1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multimedia process monitor and control system for use in various industrial fields.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been various multimedia process monitor systems. For example, they have been described in A Plant Operation Monitoring Man-Machine Interface through a Direct Operation on Pictures p. 1023-1030 by Tani, M. et al., T. IEE Japan, Vol. 111-D, No. 12, '91 and in Tokukai-hei 5-334438 Object Position Mapping Method and Object Identifying Method using a Camera Image, which is a patent application filed by the applicant. The plant monitor system shown in FIG. 1 is an example of the multimedia process monitor and control system.
As shown in FIG. 1, camera 1 and mike(microphone) 2 are installed to monitor with picture and sound the state of a plant site. A picture signal captured by camera 1 is transmitted to an image recording device 3. A sound signal collected by mike 2 is transmitted to a sound recording device 4. The image recording device 3 transmits an input picture signal directly to a multiplexer 5, records the picture signal, and regenerates it when necessary. The sound recording device 4 transmits an input sound signal directly to a speaker 12, regenerates and records it. A process data controller 6 controls input and output of process data of the plant.
A computer 8 comprises a CPU (central processing unit) 9, an auxiliary storage device 10, a console 11, a process data input/output unit 20, etc. It temporarily stores process data, which are input and output by the process data controller 6, in the auxiliary storage device 10 through the process data input/output unit 20, and transmits them to the multiplexer 5. The multiplexer 5 multiplexes the picture signal and the process data, and transmits them to a multiwindow display 7 to display them on it. Thus, an operator monitors the whole process through the display 7 and a speaker 12 while operating the console 11.
FIG. 2 shows an example of trend data in a form of a graph 13 on the display 7. FIG. 3 displays an image 14 captured by the camera 1 in addition to the trend data.
The operator monitors the display 7, detects abnormal conditions in the drawings of the plant system and process data on the display 7, and performs a recovery process on them.
However, the above described conventional management system has the following disadvantages;
(1) If an abnormal condition is detected and a recovery process is immediately performed on it, then the detailed analysis of the cause of the abnormal condition can hardly be made, thereby almost ignoring an detailed analysis of abnormal conditions. According to the conventional system, image data, sound data, and process data are independently recorded. Therefore, the data stored immediately before and after an abnormal condition can be easily regenerated independently, but it is very difficult to regenerate each type of data synchronously with another type of data. PA0 (2) Since the system is designed in multimedia configuration, it requires a large-capacity storage device and a large-scale processing when image and sound data are stored in the system. PA0 (3) Various types of data collected from a monitored object are related to one another, but are not effectively used to determine the existence of abnormal conditions. PA0 (4) When the operator tries to detect an abnormal condition in input data, he or she should monitor the display all the time. If an abnormal condition occurs when the operator takes his or her eyes off the display, the abnormal condition may be overlooked and therefore incur delay in recovery. PA0 (5) If an abnormal condition occurs when the operator is not at a monitor device, then an intruder in a monitored area cannot be informed of the abnormal condition. PA0 (6) If the operator inputs voice data through a mike, he or she cannot input voice before performing an input operation. PA0 (7) A number of sensors may be installed for a monitored object so that a state amount of the monitored object can be detected. In this case, the detected state amount is represented only by numbers on the screen. Therefore, it is not displayed effectively on a monitor screen.